One of the biggest needs for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason is on their offensive line. The left tackle position, one of the most important positions in football, could be boosted on and CBS Sports believes Pittsburgh should upgrade from Dan Moore Jr. in free agency.
Today, Jeff Kerr wrote an article playing matchmaker with AFC teams and free agents and believes that current Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown would be a match made in heaven for the Steelers.
“This is the AFC franchise that must protect its young quarterback, needing a massive upgrade at tackle in order to get the best out of Kenny Pickett,” wrote Kerr. “Brown has been one of the best tackles in the game over the past four seasons, the only offensive tackle to reach the Pro Bowl in each of the past four years. The Chiefs left tackle allowed four sacks and 39 pressures in the regular season while allowing 10 pressures in three postseason games.”
The primary reason given for signing Brown is to protect Pickett who ended his rookie season with the arrow pointed up. Giving him a better offensive line, especially on his blind side, would be helpful for him and hopefully make him more comfortable in the pocket.
Pittsburgh is very familiar with Brown. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 playing three seasons there mostly at right tackle. The familiarity Pittsburgh has with Brown could interest them as they have seen him enough to know what Brown brings to the table.
At 6’8″ 363 pounds the Steelers would be getting an elite left tackle who would not only help Pickett out in pass protection but would also be able to open holes for Najee Harris and the rushing attack which had a lot of emphasis placed on it in the back half of the season.
However, in Kerr’s article despite getting a very good player in Brown, the Steelers lose one of their own in Cameron Sutton. Kerr has the Jacksonville Jaguars signing Sutton in free agency taking the Pittsburgh’s homegrown cornerback away from them and severely weakening their cornerback room.
In all likelihood these two things are not going to happen. Pittsburgh normally does not make big splashes in free agency and signing Brown would be their biggest free agent acquisition in a long time. Add in the fact that Sutton is a priority re-sign for the team, and it is way more likely Pittsburgh elects to retain Sutton and have quieter free agency than lose him and make a big splash at another position.
While Brown would be a great signing, it just isn’t how Pittsburgh operates. They care more about developing their own guys and paying them when the time comes than paying free agents from other teams.
